Body and Brain Yoga, formally known as Dahn Yoga, is a very
well structured cult. While their practice encompasses various Eastern esoteric
exercises, not one of them are strictly their own; copied from many different
sources, Tao principles, Chan Buddhism, Japanese martial arts, etc. There are
some benefits to the practice. They made it very simple so just about anyone
can start training their body, mind, and spirit. Also the exercises does make
one feel good as it is mainly focused on grounding one’s energy although any
exercise will make you feel good if you didn’t have regular exercises before.
However, that is where the benefits end.
I started B&B Yoga back in August, 2015. I had just
experienced a spiritual awakening on my own outside of any spiritual or
religious background in July, 2015. I immersed very rapidly once I got started
as B&B gave me simple tools to advance and strengthen my spiritual needs.
But soon realized how rudimentary the practice was. Many of its principles came
natural to me. They were basic knowledge for anyone that had any spiritual
background. That is when hard sales pitch and push started. I was promised more
knowledge and higher training if only I attended various workshops, some at the
local centers, and some were national trainings in Sedona, Arizona. Which I
gladly accepted as I thought this will help me grow. I attended multiple
classes a day and many of the local workshops. Then I was asked to take
national workshops in Sedona. And these didn’t come cheap. I was initially signed
up two workshops, Solar Body Healing Course (SBHC) and Brain Management
Training (BMT), together the cost was $5,000. I gathered all my credit card to
pay for them as I was being convinced by the regional manager and trainer Eunice
that this cost is for my own growth and education. Not even a week after I’ve
decided to take these two courses, Eunice once again approached me about taking
another workshop, Dahn Master Course (DMC), cost $10,000. I was told that if I
took all three courses together, I will receive major discount, total cost of
$11,900 for all three. As I told her I don’t have any more money, she started
to ask me if I can borrow from family or friends. She was very insistent that I
ask around for money. When I told her no, she said she can arrange a monthly
payment plan for me. Which I eventually agreed for monthly payment of $485
until the balance is paid off, convincing myself that it was necessary for my
own spiritual growth.
I attended SBHC and BMT in early November, 2015. The workshops
were devastatingly disappointing. First of all, I was told to purchase various
items that were necessary for the workshops. However none of them were used.
Very deceptive and shoddy practice to sell merchandise. Second, there was no
new principles or exercises I learned. Third, I witnessed the mind altering
brain washing process. Loud music, frantic dancing, and zealous body movements
to lead people into trance like altered consciousness then they bombard members
with subliminal and suggestive guided meditation in which they introduce
worshipping of their founder Ilchi Lee. This became very obvious in BMT with
multiple introduction videos about Ilchi Lee and constant talk of how “amazing”
he is for creating this practice for all the members yet they don’t talk about
how much money he makes from the members. Lastly, half the workshops were
commercial for other workshops they offer, franchising information, and product
demos. It felt like sitting at a Time Share presentation. It’s worth mentioning
that the lead instructor of these trainings seemed very depressed and confused
about what he is doing. He hates himself for brain washing members but he is
extremely talented at it. This was another issue. None of the masters seemed
sure about the practice. All of them seemed to have mixed feelings about it.
One of them, a master with more than 25 years of training in the organization,
told me that people don’t need to take all these workshop and it is just waste
of money. After consulting with many fellow members about my concern, I
realized that there is something really wrong with this organization. But it
wasn’t until I came back from Sedona I realized the true depth of horrors and
deception of this practice.
First thing Eunice asked of me after I just got back from
Sedona was whether if I can pay for the DMC in full that day. I was really
disheartened and taken aback by her. She didn’t care how my experiences were. I
started going to regular classes less and less and I decided to do research
into this organization. Fortunately for me, I am fluent in Korean. Instead of
English search, I decided to look at Korean websites for more information.
These are some of the findings I thought were worth sharing. Most information
is shared by former masters and individuals who worked closely with founder
Ilchi Lee and the organization. The information is in Korean but if you can, I
strongly encourage you to take a look at this website and maybe Google can
somewhat translate for you.
1.
B&B franchise is known as Dahn World in
Korea. They are the number one complaints of fraud and being a cult.
2.
There are some 60 or more sub organizations and
institutes in Korea and internationally operated by Ilchi Lee which he launders
his money. He is suspected to be worth billions but no one knows for sure how
much. These include many different types of Chan Buddhism institutes, Tao
fellowships, HSP brands, brain education institutes and miscellaneous
unidentified organizations.
3.
One of the biggest sister organizations of Dahn
in U.S. is Earth Citizens Organization in which Ilchi Lee is the chairman.
While they are supposedly trying to help environment, they have not made any
significant donation to any cause as of yet.
4.
Dahn has more than 30 years of history. They say
they are promoting the ideology of benefitting all beings on Earth yet only
thing they have been doing all these years is growing themselves in size. They
haven’t been behind any worthwhile cause. All talk, no action. Just collecting
money from its members for themselves only.
5.
All the workshops are set up to mass produce
center masters (jidojas), or franchise owners as they are critical in group’s
ability to grow larger in size. This helps recruiting new members which equals
more money for the organization.
6.
While Ilchi Lee has claimed that he is not
religious and Dahn is not a religion, he himself has been registered as Chan
Buddhist Institute since 2004 in Korea receiving tax benefits.
7.
They take advantage of members who are
vulnerable, weak, and fearful. They seem very nice, kind, and warm at first
glance, but as soon as you are out of money and you are no use to them, they
will cut you out cold hearted. When you first join the practice, they may give
you aura readings or other consultation in which they boast you to feel
special. They may tell you things like you were meant to be a spiritual leader
and that you should become jidoja.
8.
Jidojas or center masters are taught to use
their sexual energy when interacting with members. Especially, male masters are
instructed to be very affectionate with excessive touching and hugging
interacting with female members. This creates general attraction towards the
masters from members and they are more easily convinced to pay for workshops
and make donations.
9.
Many male masters use this ability to seduce
female members to sexual relationships. Dahn has been heart break of many
unsuspecting families. Adultery and sexual harassment is very common place in
Dahn. There is ongoing joke among Dahn masters; this is not Dahn World, this is
Sex World, or Sexual Harassment World.
10.
Ilchi Lee is obsessed with money more than
anything. He has many houses and properties in Korea, US, and Japan. He has
personal jets, yachts, limos, Hummers. Many of the properties are under his
families and relatives.
11.
Ilchi Lee is addicted to sex. He’s had so many
sex scandals since early 90’s. His favorite line to female students is “your
mouth has the most acupressure points. Suck on my fingers, I will give you some
energy”. He’s known to invite young female students to his private room for
personal trainings as young as 14 years old. He has frequent sexual
relationships with many female students. He is surrounded by ongoing, nonstop
sex scandals even now.
12.
Ilchi Lee is big fan of gambling. He has a
private residence in Las Vegas and he visits quite frequently. He’s known to
waste several millions of dollars in a single night. He is loyalty and VIP at
many of the Vegas casinos.
13.
He is a complete glutton. He eats 4-6 big meals
a day and is suffering from diabetes and obesity. He has stopped doing any of
his exercises many years ago. He can’t even walk without his walking stick
anymore. He doesn’t practice what he preaches but he plays golf and horseback
riding. He can’t even take care of his body, how can he help the world and
people?
14.
Ilchi Lee has exalted himself into a “divine
being”. He calls himself the Heaven. He calls his lectures Heaven’s Landing.
His lectures are basic information rehashed and repeated from the same
information available everywhere. He has to be bowed and worshipped before he
comes out and speaks to his followers. He has created a division between
himself and fellow human beings.
15.
They control their members through fear. They
say that the world is coming to an end in 2020 so we should dedicate ourselves
and our money to reach an enlightenment now. They prey on innocent people who
really want to make a change in the world and help themselves.
16.
Jidojas are slaving their lives away with almost
no pay while Ilchi makes more than double the money of 3000 or so jidojas
throughout his organization each year. Jidojas live away from their families
and friends in a dorm with other masters. They spend ungodly hours working.
It’s depressing, inhumane environment. There are handful of cases where these
jidojas committed suicides.
17.
Ilchi has been arrested for fraud,
misrepresentation, false advertisement, falsification of legal documents, and reporting
untruthful sales and tax information multiple occasions. They have been
reporting that they are making profits but in actuality, they are losing so
much members these days. They are expected to close up to 70% of centers in
Korea and U.S. He has made a claim that he was one of the chosen 50 spiritual
leaders by U.N. which was complete lie.
18.
He calls himself the Heaven or Heavenly Father.
He calls the day he was arrested in 1993 for fraud in Korea, the Day that went
against the Heaven.
After finding more about the organization, on December 21,
I met with Eunice and talked about my findings and concerns. When I told her
that I was concerned that this is a cult, she didn’t even deny it. She said,
“Yeah we are that kind of organization. So what of it?” There was no shame or
guilt from her cold eyes. Baffled by her reaction, I just told her that I’m not
going to attend any more workshops and that I am finished with the practice
completely. Then she tried to convince me that there is no other practice like
Dahn. I told her actually, you’ve copied from other practices without giving
them credit and that I can go learn from somewhere else the same exact
principles and exercises without going bankrupt. At that moment she just
completely cut me out and told me to get out. I asked about how can I get my
money back and they were going to call me about how in couple days. However, as
of today January 2, 2016, they have not made any attempt to communicate with me
about refund.
While Dahn promotes wonderful message of hope and harmonious
world, the organization itself is extremely corrupt and evil. In that core is
Ilchi Lee who is worshipped by these blinded masters and members follow without
questioning. Don’t trust the center masters. They may be good people but they
also can’t see beyond the illusions created by Ilchi Lee. When you step back
and look with objective eyes, it becomes very clear. Look deep and wide and see
it for what it truly is. There is no singular truth or ideology to
enlightenment. There are as many doors to enlightenment as there are people in
this Earth. Take a step back and free yourself from these restrictions and
limitations. In the end, I’m not here to change anyone’s mind. I only want to
share my view of the practice. You don’t have to believe what I say. I want people
to question everything and make that choice from their heart and soul. If you
truly believe that Dahn or B&B yoga is the way you’ve chosen to grow your
spirituality, then that is perfectly fine. But there is a beautiful world out
there and real growth comes from researching and applying yourself in your
life, not hiding behind a false safety created from an ideology of a cult
leader.
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These are some of the vital information I felt like needed
to be shared. Here are some links to other sources you should look into.
